While fans and analysts alike are starting to worry about the impact of the 3-point fetishized style of play coming to be known as Mazzullaball, the head coach of the Boston Celtics from whom that name derives (Joe Mazzulla) is not especially concerned about it potentially being a part of the cause of several recent, avoidable losses.
“The only thing you can control is to try to win the games,” he explained. “We put ourselves in the best possible chance to win but (I have) zero concerns (about how the team has struggled against tougher ball clubs in recent games).
“Just because there (are) 17 games left doesn’t mean that there’s any different than how a stretch of a season would go, and you obviously want to be playing your best basketball later in the season as you get closer to the playoffs,” Mazzulla explained.
Boston pushed New York to double OT, but in the end the Celtics couldn’t come up with a win. https://t.co/QqU2oQP8um
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) March 6, 2023
“This is a tough stretch,” suggested the Celtics coach. “Whatever the stretch has, we have to learn from it so that we can use it later in the year.”
“I would say we’re not locking in as much as we need to,” replied veteran big man Al Horford when asked what he thought was going wrong of late. “This is the second time that we had a lead, we feel good about it, a team makes a run and we just let them back in the game.”
Whether the unvaried shot diet is the culprit or not — something Mazzulla has previously pushed back on — Boston is running out of time to get their ducks in a row for the postseason with just 17 games left in their 2022-23 slate of games.
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